Another Life
by TheBloodyLoveOfSakuraHaruno
Summary: As the Infinite Tsukiyomi was cast, they felt the hopelessness wash over them. She heard him say those fateful words before the red light fell upon them and she lost herself...
1. The Illusion

As the Infinite Tsukiyomi was cast, they all felt the hoplessness wash over them. Emerald eyes glanced into the clear blue ones of her friend as she squeezed his hand. The only thing she could do to comfort herself and him. His gaze was focused on the man in the air who, only minutes earlier, stabbed her through the gut with a metal rod. Then her sad eyes trailed over to the man she had so long loved. His body was stiff, eyes analytical. He was trying so hard to find a way to keep himself from being sucked into the genjutsu that would suck them up in only seconds. As the red light of the moon was about to sweep over them, she caught his gaze, only for a second, look over at her and Naruto.

In that moment she saw his mouth form those words she could never forget.

"Thank you."

That was all she heard before she saw the red light and then nothing. Then she felt herself slip away...

* * *

Today was the day, she decided. She looked in the mirror and said to herself,

"I am Sakura Haruno. I was trained by the best doctor in all the nations. I am not scared of asking some guy on a date! He will say yes." She said her affirmations over and over to herself. Then her eyes softened at her reflection and she gave a soft sigh. "Stupid Ino-pig. Sasuke is never going to agree to go on a date with me. He's the most sought after bachelor in the Fire country." She plopped onto her bed and laid on her side, frowning. She thought about the dark haired man she had been infatuated with so long. After their long history together on Team 7, she knew him well. He loved his family and wanted nothing more than to make his father and older brother proud. Because of that, he spent countless hours training to become an ANBU and follow in the footsteps of Itachi. The lack of time that Itachi was home though, pushed Sasuke into a lonely solitude. Always trying harder and harder so he could go with his brother on missions.

Itachi thought highly of Sasuke. That, she knew well, because Itachi and her had grabbed a cup of tea together once a month for the last two years, since she was 18. He wanted to know the progress Sasuke was making not in his ninjutsu but in his social life. Since Sasuke had secluded himself from his friends to get stronger as a child, Itachi had worried about him. He used to sit down with Kakashi-sensei, after he became Team 7s teacher, about these things but with Kakashi-sensei helping Tsunade-sama train Naruto to become Hokage, he had his hands full.

Now, Sasuke never used to be like this. It was strange how he suddenly became that way one day. He was so happy and cheerful as a child and then one day, he had a seizure. Tsunade-sama and Orochimaru-sama, being the best in the village when it came to medicine and science, spent countless hours and days monitoring him. They never did figure out what happened. All the signs pointed to something psychologically causing the issues but he wouldn't talk about what happened. No one could figure out what happened to the cheerful child. That's when the constant training started. He only smiled when he was with his mom or Itachi. Even then, they were small and sad smiles. She pondered this momentarily until her thoughts were interrupted by the time on her clock.

"Oh crap! I'm going to be late!" Sakura jumped off her bed and grabbed her nin sandals, which were more like boots, and jumped out her window after throwing them on her feet. It was quicker than running through her apartment to use her front door.

* * *

"Glad you could make it, Sakura-san." The man smiled with a hint of humor in his eyes.

"Sorry, Itachi-san." She huffed, a little out of breath from her quick, morning sprint. "I was caught in my thoughts." She said giving a coy smile. He motioned for her to sit down. The waitress came over to immediately serve the new guest.

"The usual, Sakura-san?" The waitress smiled.

"Yes, please." She smiled and gave a slight nod. Itachi waited to speak until after the waitress left, so as not to embarrass the young medic.

"Would these thoughts have to do with asking Sasuke on a date?" He smirked. The shocked expression and bright blush gracing her entire face amused the ANBU officer. He sometimes felt like he had a sick sense of humor but brushed it off when she cleared her throat to speak.

"Ho-how? I uhh..." He put a hand up to stop her.

"Ino has been spreading the word that you're 'finally'", he used his fingers to do air quotes "going to ask my little brother out." The look on her face turned from shock to seething anger, not at Itachi but her so called 'best friend'.

"I can't believe her..." she muttered as she looked down at her fiddling hands. She bit her lip thinking about all the absurd things Sasuke must have heard people gossiping about in town.

"Well?" He said expectantly with a raised eye brow. "Were you planning on asking out my foolish little brother on a date?"

"Erm...well...how do I say..." She gave up with a sigh. "Ino has been trying to convince me to ask him out. But I...I don't think I can." She admitted with defeat. In the time she has spent with Itachi, though it hasn't been much, she has learned she could trust him wholeheartedly. He was kind as he was strong. He placed his arms on the table, his fingers interlaced, and rested his chin on them.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, I just don't have the confidence to take the rejection." She said with a sullen look on her face. He looked at her seriously and slowly sat straight up.

"What makes you think he'll say no?"

"Come on, Itachi. You know Sasuke. It's been train, train, train ever since the accident. He doesn't have time to date; even if he did, it wouldn't be with me. He's made that pretty clear." An image of a mission failed long passed flashed through her head.

_"You're weak." He glared down at her tear filled eyes with dark, hateful obsidian._

She shook the memory out of her head and saw Itachi's disappointed face. He didn't like when people talked so negatively. Especially when it was those he cared about. Though he didn't voice it, he probably rooted for the young girls love to succeed more than she did. At that time the waitress returned with their order.

"Green tea for you." She said as she gently placed the steaming cup in front of Itachi. "No sugar. And Oolong tea for you with a cup of ice." She placed the cold cup with a spoon next to her own steaming cup of tea.

"Thank you. You always know what I want." She smiled at the middle aged woman who always served them during their monthly meetings.

"It's no problem, Sakura-chan. Enjoy yourselves." She bowed slightly before she turned away. Sakura began to place a couple ice cubes in her hot tea to cool it down. She took great care stirring her tea so she wouldn't have to face Itachi.

* * *

Sweat slid off his smooth face as he practiced his taijutsu on a wooden dummy. His mouth was set in a stern line and his eyes hard, but distant. What was in front of him though was not a dummy but a man that he loathed. He tried hard not to let his thoughts slip away into the past because he knew it would only be a distraction to him, and he knew what he would see. His teeth clenched as he fought off the surfacing memories and hit the doll harder and harder until it snapped under the strength of his fists.

He looked down at the doll with a hateful glare. He let his control slip for one moment and he saw the mans face he so loathed, clearly in front of him. He saw his evil eyes and the smirk on his face as he looked into Sasukes eyes. Then he saw red light that washed over the world. He threw down a kunai into the face of the training dummy and turned away. He pushed the images from his mind and walked away from the training grounds to pay the Hokage a visit. He was going to seek out a mission to keep his mind focused.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if the end of that got sloppy. Sasuke's part was a bit harder to write. I just felt a little inspired to write this. I don't know what I'm going to do about Sakura Viewings, I didn't plan it out well and its plot is a bit messed up. I won't promise to update this new story often but I hope that I can at least once a month. I'd like to hear thoughts on it. Update 7/1/14: I just changed a couple words here and there to make the reading flow better. No need to reread it if you've already read this chapter.


	2. A Mission

Sasuke jogged across the rooftops to avoid being slowed by the pace of the citizens mulling about their mundane routines. He wanted to escape the village today. He wanted to run as fast as he could; to feel the sweat fall off his face and the burn in his lungs. He wanted to have a goal or target to occupy his mind. He wanted to so desperately be free from all the people he couldn't bring himself to face anymore. All the faces he saw everyday but knew that they were but shells of themselves thoughtlessly living 'peaceful' lives. As luck would have it, he saw the flash of pink and couldn't keep himself from looking down at her. He faltered momentarily when he saw his brother with her, drinking tea. What he saw, though, was not her sad eyes which were obviously avoiding looking at Itachi or Itachi's sidelong glance up at his spying younger brother.

What he saw were tear filled emerald eyes and a bloody wound. He saw hope fading from her as the moon turned red as her blood. Sasuke grimaced at the thoughts and turned away from the woman he could hardly look at anymore. Guilt slowly pressing down on his heart as he continued on his way. He hoped today he would get an assassination mission.

* * *

Itachi knew the girl across from him had been too deep in her thoughts to see the subject of her turmoil gazing at her from afar. Itachi couldn't decipher the emotions in his younger brother's eyes as he looked down at her. He knew that they were not emotions of extreme happiness though.

"Sakura." He said to break her from her thoughts. She glanced up at him hesitantly. "I am truly grateful that you have the feelings you do for my brother. However, I don't want you to waste the best years of your life waiting for him. He is foolish to not be the one chasing after you. You're young, smart and beautiful. No one will blame you if you look for happiness for yourself." Itachi looked straight into her eyes as he spoke the words that he knew would cause a fiery blush to creep up her face.

"I-" He held a hand up to stop her .

"Just think about it. There are many eligible men who fancy you. I have a meeting with my father about some police force matters that I need to be on my way to. I'll see you soon, Sakura - chan." Itachi dismissed himself from the table and walked over to the waitress to pay for their tea. He would never let Sakura pay for herself and she gave up the battle long ago. As he was exiting the restaurant, the waitress bowed after him profusely. He probably gave her a bill too large and told her to keep the change.

Sakura sipped at the rest of her tea and thought about Itachi's parting words. "Eligible men, huh? Like who?" An image of Rock Lee striking his signature pose made its way into her mind. A soft smile and giggle graced her lips at the idea. "Looks like you'll be single for a while, huh Sakura?" She sighed to herself. "Oh, it's almost time for training." She pushed out of her seat and made her way to the bridge they always met at for training.

* * *

"Look, Sasuke, I don't know what to tell you. We're in peacetime now. There's no missions except for helping people in their gardens or stores. Even the bandits on the paths between the towns and countries have become quiet. No one even requires ninja escorts anymore. We might soon have to limit the number of kids going into the ninja academy. We just don't have any jobs for ninja these days. Besides, Team 7 has a training session today, don't they? Go to that." Tsuande rubbed at her temples. Everyday Sasuke burst into her office demanding a mission and always turned down the only ones she had, which were all low ranking.

"Tsunade-"

"That is Hokage-sama to you, Sasuke!" Tsunade bellowed. She sighed and looked at the furious boy. "You're dismissed." He glared at her before slamming the doors to her office as he exited. "We need to get him some mental help. Oh, Sakura, what do you see in that boy..." She took a swig of her sake and tried to recreate Sasuke's glare at her pile of paperwork. Maybe she could scare it away.

* * *

As Sakura neared the bridge, she could hear Naruto yelling something incoherent. As she got closer, she saw he was pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself. His hand was on his chin and he appeared to be deep in thought.

"Naruto?"

"Ahh! Sakura-chan!" He looked at her with tear-filled eyes. He ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her. "You can't ask the bastard out! Don't do it Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto. I'm not going-" He kept shaking her and screaming. "Naruto!"

"Sakura-chan, you can't!" He wailed with snot and tears rolling down his face.

"NARUTO! I'm not going to ask Sasuke-kun out!" She yelled. He stopped shaking her and gave her a dumbfounded look that she could only sigh at. His face was gross looking with all the tears and snot.

"What?" He said. She pushed his hands off her shoulder and rolled her eyes.

"I said, I'm not asking him out Naruto." She looked down in slight defeat.

"But Ino said..."

"Ugh! Stupid Ino-pig! I'm going to pummel her. She was trying to convince me to ask him on a date. But I'm not going to." Naruto's frown grew into a big grin.

"Really? That's great!" He beamed and turned to start mumbling to himself about how he could ask her on a date. His ramblings eventually turned into something about marriage and she diligently did what she could to ignore him. She leaned over the side of the bridge and gazed at her reflection. She hadn't even gotten rejected but she already looked sad. She watched the fish swim around and laid her head down over her arms.

_What good is peace when you can't even enjoy it? _She mentally slapped herself for thinking that way. There were many people who would probably be dead by now if there wasn't peace across the lands. There would be wives, husbands, children, and friends who would be left behind and heartbroken. What she wouldn't do for a good mission...

"Bastard, you actually showed up! I was beginning to think you were too scared to face me." Naruto grinned confidently at Sasuke. Sasuke didn't find Naruto's comment worthy of a reply so he sat down and leaned back against a tree next to the bridge. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He would keep as much distance between himself and them as he could. Even if it was fake, they deserved peace and happiness. He wouldn't ruin it for them but he **would** find a way out one day. To his dismay, Naruto was not happy to be ignored and stomped over to where Sasuke was. Right as Naruto was about to open his mouth, Kakashi poofed onto the bridge.

Kakashi clapped his hands together, "We have a mission today." He said with a big smile. Well, what looked like a big smile through his mask.

"Ugh! The only missions these days are bo-ring! I want an action packed battle where I get to kick some butt! Right, Sasuke?!" Naruto whined. Sasuke didn't acknowledge Naruto's outburst but opened an uniterested eye to look at Kakahi.

"Well, Naruto. We're a bit short on those at the moment. But for this one, we do get to travel." With that statement, Sakura perked up and looked at her teacher for the first time since his arrival. "We'll be heading to the land of Lightning." At that, Sasuke's ears perked up. _The land of lightning is where we fought Madara...maybe I can find a clue how to escape this world there..._


	3. Training

"Sensei, what exactly are we going to be doing in the Land of Lightning?" Sakura asked her smiling sensei with apprehension. His grin was suspicious.

"Well, we'll be delivering a scroll to the Raikage." He said calmly. Plucking his favored book out of his pocket, he turned to whatever page he decided to read and continued with his briefing. "We'll be leaving tomorrow morning so we'll be canceling training today so we can all get ready. I expect to see you all there at the gates at the crack of dawn." And with a tone of finality, he poofed away. Something in his smile and cheerful tone had made her suspicious of their mission, but she wrote it off as relief to be getting to take his fidgety team out of the village for a while.

"Yosh! We're finally getting a super awesome mission with a secret scroll to protect. I bet it has something awesome on it. Lets go to Ichiraku to celebrate!" Naruto looked over at Sakura and then to Sasuke with glassy, hopeful eyes. Sakura frowned at Naruto's lack of diversity in his diet.

"Tch." Was all that they needed to hear from Sasuke to know he wouldn't go. He slowly stood from his spot next to the tree and shoved his hands in his pockets. He didn't even give them a sideways glance as he stalked off into the more secluded training grounds. Sakura looked at Naruto with a look of apology before she told Naruto she didn't feel up to it and that she'd see him tomorrow. She ran off to follow Sasuke secretly, leaving a disappointed Naruto to pout as he walked toward his favorite food stand alone.

Sakura had made a bad habit of watching Sasuke train lately. She couldn't seem to stop after the first time she stumbled across his training. She was drawn by the strong chakra radiating from the clearing he was in. When she found what drew her over, his eyes were so intense she hid herself from him, afraid to have the intense glare turned her way. The way his eyes focused on his target whether it be a falling leaf, a dummy, or a clone; hate radiated so strongly you could almost feel it. The focus he gave his training was intense. His movements were perfect, there was never a wasted move. Sakura couldn't tear her eyes away from the way his muscles moved and the clenching of his jaw. Ever since that day, she had seeked out his training spots when she knew he'd be there and just watch.

Today she hid up in the canopy of trees, relaxing against the trunk with one leg dangling off the side. She watched intently as he battled three of his clones, her eyes barely keeping up with his blurring speed. They were starting with taijutsu which was impressive. She could hardly believe the skill Sasuke possessed to hold off three of himself. One of him was enough to give Kakashi-sensei and Naruto trouble. She watched as punch and kick missed him time after time, but he had trouble landing hits on his clones as well. Hours into his training and her watching, he finally seemed to tire himself out as he failed to fully dodge a fire jutsu his clone had sent at him. She let out a little gasp and almost went to help when she felt her branch dip under the weight of another human. She snapped her head in the direction of the intruder only to see Itachi perched on the branch. He raised a finger to his lips indicating for her to keep quiet while giving her a meaningful look. She nodded her head in understanding and looked where Itachi was pointing at Sasuke.

Sasuke was standing up with a heated look in his bright red eyes. The Sharingann was spinning furiously. She knew if he turned his head in their direction, they'd be done for but he positioned his back towards them and ran at his only remaining clone with a yell. They fought each other furiously, both low on chakra and exhausted. His clone would disappear any moment but it still put up a good fight. Finally Sasuke landed a punch in its stomach and followed with an elbow to its face. The tell tale poof told the two onlookers that the battle was over. Sakura usually left before Sasuke could notice her presence but she hesitated seeing the burn on his arm. She glanced at Itachi and he motioned for her to leave as he prepared to jump into the clearing. She complied and leapt away, going to shop to prepare for their long mission.

* * *

That night as Sakura was packing for the extended trip, she thought over what had transpired that day. She had met with Itachi-san that morning and he had told her that she shouldn't spend her time pursuing Sasuke if it made her unhappy. That was embarrassing. Speaking of which, she still had to talk to Ino about the little rumor going around. Then she finally got a good mission, though she couldn't imagine what was so secret, or important, that Tsunade-sama would have a shinobi cell deliver it. She knew it wasn't her business to know though. Then she spied on Sasuke's training. It was a little bit embarrassing that Itachi-san had caught her but he didn't have any judgment in his eyes when he looked at her so she knew he wouldn't reprimand her or anything.

Tomorrow she would be leaving on her first lengthy mission in a while. She was a little nervous to be passing by Sound. After Orochimaru-sama moved there and became the Otokage, he had a strange obsession with Sasuke and weird medical techniques. Him and Tsuande-sama seemed to have a falling out when he left. She didn't know if Orochimaru-sama would still be intent on having Sasuke join him in Oto, but she knew that Kakashi-sensei and Naruto wouldn't let that happen.

She was hoping that they would get a chance to relax at the hot springs in the Land of Hot Water before traveling through the Land of Frost to get to the Land of Lightening. She knew that it all depended on how sadistic Kakashi-sensei was feeling that day though. She plopped her full pack onto her desk and prepared for bed. After a quick shower, she was in her too big T-shirt and shorts staring at herself in the mirror. Green met green as she told herself:

"I am Haruno Sakura and I am strong." She turned off the light and curled up in bed knowing she would be waking up way too early the next morning.


	4. Her Nighmares

The wind was blowing through her hair. The spring breeze left a refreshed feeling flowing throughout her body and smelled faintly of sunlight. Beside her were the two men who were most important in her life, Naruto and Sasuke. They were running through the trees together. She wasn't sure why, she just knew it was a happy moment. She let the sun warm her skin and a smile grace her face. Slowly drops of black began to fall, blotching out parts of the scenery around her. It was as if someone had spilled ink on paper. The grass below and trees around began to turn black faster and faster as if a downpour of ink fell from the sky. She panicked and looked over at Naruto and saw the ink was beginning to erase him as well, but he didn't look as if he saw what was happening. He was beaming with that characteristic Naruto smile.

A blotch fell on his shoulder and it faded away into the darkness. She tried to yell out, to tell him to look, but her voice wouldn't come out. Another blotch fell on his thigh and it, too, was gone. More and more ink seemed to fall onto Naruto and the surrounding forest until it was almost as black as night. Eventually all she could see of Naruto was one bright blue eye. Her tears wouldn't stop pouring down her face as she tried to cry out to him. But it was of no use as the last part of him vanished into the void around her.

The black erased the sun and left the moon in its place. She gazed up at it, tears still rimming her eyes. It almost looked red. The color tickled the back of her mind, tugging at something important. A memory... The image of Sasuke's bright red sharingann eyes flooded her mind and she turned in circles frantically searching for him. Did he, too, disappear? After a moment her eyes found him, his dark eyes and hair blending in with the blackness. He turned to her, his gaze freezing her. He wasn't even trying to hide the despair on his face as he gazed at her. His eyes focused not on her face but her stomach. She looked down and touched her stomach. Her hand came away bright red, with blood dripping off her hand. She sucked in a breath to scream...

Her strangled gasp caught in her throat as she shot straight up in her bed. Sweat stuck her hair to her face and neck. She was panting, gasping for breath while gripping the kunai that usually hides under her pillow. Her wide green eyes searched her room for any threats before she dropped her kunai back onto the bed and buried her face in her hands. Silent tears streamed down her face.

Sakura was no stranger to nightmares. She could remember exactly when they started plaguing her sleep. It was the first time she saw the sharingann. She knew what it was, of course, but she didn't know how much fear it would strike into her heart. She had followed Sasuke one day when they were back in the academy, fangirling over him a little. He went to try and train with Itachi but Itachi was already locked in a match with Shisui. When they turned to acknowledge Sasuke's arrival, she saw the red, spinning pinwheels and felt ice bloom in her stomach. She immediatly felt fear like she had never felt before and froze. After they turned away and continued their sparring match, she ran away as fast as she could. Ever since then she tried to never look at any sharingann straight on. When she did, that feeling came back again.

Sakura dragged herself out of her bed and into the bathroom. Bracing herself on the counter, she stared down her reflection. It was not a pleasant sight. Her normally vibrant eyes were rimmed red from crying and the dark circles underneath made them stand out even more, not in a good way. Her skin was sickly pale with a sheen of sweat coating it that stuck her limp hair to her uncomfortablly. _Ugh, I need a shower._ She glanced out the doorway at the clock next to her bed. _4:02am. I guess it'll be daybreak soon enough. _

She gazed longingly at her bed knowing it wouldn't offer her anymore comfort that night and started her morning routine. Looking at herself in the mirror once again she told herself, "Smile. You have a mission today." She gave herself a half pathetic smile. _It's progress._


End file.
